News

10 minutes ago I received a call from 02689 573214. It was someone telling me they were from BT and about to cut off my internet connection as my IP address had been compromised, and they needed to log into my computer to put some security software on it.

I was immediately wary, and thought there was something very suspect about the call. Probably because we don’t even have a BT internet line.

Given what we do, providing Cloud computing systems from our own datacentre, and also dealing in IT security, I was quickly able to deploy some high tech “tools” of our own. It quickly became obvious the person calling wasn’t in the UK, and was infact using a VOIP phone system to route the call through a number of servers. And so the chase began. Anything more that we found is something not to be reported on here, but handed to the relevant authorities!!

All I will say is that if you get a call from 02689 573214 and its someone asking about your internet connection, PLEASE just put the phone down before they explain to you how they can “fix” your computer. They will attempt to install some software that one way or another will cost you a great deal of money, hijacking your system and demanding money to correct it.

Spread the word and let people know to hang up calls from 02689 573214.

Cloud 9 Hosts are happy to see the British Touring Car Championship back at Oulton Park this weekend. Managing Director Graham Saul commented “Once again we’re one of the sponsors of Jake Hill. We’ve been involved in his career for a number of years now, and he’s always done well at Oulton”
Its the nearest race circuit to Stockport based Cloud 9 Hosts UK office.

Jake won the ‘Dunlop Forever Forward’ award in 2016, scored three top-ten finishes in 2017 at Oulton Park, and Jake Hill heads to the stunning Cheshire circuit bursting with confidence.

“I absolutely love this place! I have Won here in Ginetta Juniors and have had podiums and fastest laps, and some mega BTCC races, it’s such a fantastic challenge – much like Brands Hatch GP it’s got an awesome mixture of fast and technical sections – it’s one of the ultimate drivers circuits. I hope we can replicate what we’ve done previously”

Hill and his team have worked tirelessly to move forward after a frustrating event at Thruxton, and feel that the recent test session at Brands Hatch that Hill’s colleagues Mike Bushell and Michael Caine completed has proved productive.

“We established some more solid info about the car. Hopefully we will move forward, we have four very good drivers and some incredible engineers who work very, very well together, so let’s see what we can do” said team principle Tony Gilham.

BRDC ‘Rising Star’ Hill has a very simple objective. “Last year I qualified in the top-ten and finished all three races in the top-ten. I am determined to do the same again this year. I will be beyond determined, and VERY committed. Let’s see what we can do!

With all the hype over cryptocurrency, there could be many reasons why people would want to find out more about SpriteCoin. DON’T. Oh, its also known as MoneroPay.

The SpriteCoin website is promoted on forums about cryptocurrency, and has even appeared on the bitcointalk.org forum. Its a clever new social engineering technique, getting people that are interested in a hot new topic to visit a website set up with the sole purpose of getting them to download an application masquerading as something when really its ransomware.

The ransomeware itself is very clever, in addition to the cryptolocker it also includes a password stealer in the same application.
Once you have downloaded and run the rouge cryptocurrency application, the cryptolocker encrypts files and demands a ransom via the Monero cryptocurrency to decrypt user’s data. At the same time, once you’ve paid your ransom, the software will still be stealing your passwords.

How To Protect Yourself!
As with most computer nasties, there are three key steps. We’ve numbered them all as 1. below because YOU MUST DO THEM ALL
1. Train staff to not use work devices for things that are not work.
1. Have backups of your data files stored away from your computer/network, such as Cloud 9 Vault
1. Invest in top quality Security Software…not just fee stuff.